I’ve spoken a few times recently by how important water is in drinks. In spirits, it’s flavour and even texture can have an effect on a drink. The same can be said for mixers too.
It’s the same when you boil a kettle in Manchester. versus you boiling it in Derby, or in London. The water is totally different. Some places it is harder, some places softer. It’s all down to the mineral content of the water. And why some people prefer to put their water through a filter before they drink it, and others prefer to drink bottle.
Personally on a day to day basis I happy with the water from the tap where I am. It’s good quality, and doesn’t need anything doing to it, but it’s fascinating what effect it has on a drink that you savour, whatever that may be – from your morning brew to your G&T.
So Llanllyr Source (no, please don’t ask me to pronounce it, my Welsh is embarassingly bad) had me curious. Home of one of the only spring waters in the world to be drawn from certified organic land, their water is present on table tops across the country, and their mixers range uses not only the same water, but the same ethos. This means the mixers are made using only natural ingredients, keeping them free from artificial additives, sweeteners and preservatives.
And I’ve worked my way through almost the entire mixers range. All in the name of research of course.
Beginning with the tonics, the Tonic Water is great – not very bitter at all, you can tell that natural quinine has been used, because it retains the floral notes of chinchona bark – something that for some reason makes me think of R Whites Lemonade, and lemonade ice lollies from my childhood (someone please tell me it’s not just me??). It’s approachable, and would go with a great range of gins – one for the G&T drinker who isn’t a big fan of more commercial tonics.
The Light Tonic, is a whole different story. Though lighter in sugar, it’s heavier in bitterness – the lower sugar content meaning that the bitter lemony note you get from quinine is more prominent. That doesn’t make it unpleasant, but it is more suited to a juniper heavy gin, and a drinker who enjoys the bitterness.
The bitter lemon was lovely, but actually less bitter than I expected. I was almost tempted to try mixing it with the Light Tonic to bump up the bitterness (yes, I really do like bitter) but I’d have lost the sharper citrus notes that it had. I was actually happy to just drink this chilled on it’s own, though I’m certain given enough time, I can play with the gins on my shelf and find the right one.
I actually had the most fun with the gingers. The Ginger Ale is light, dry and delicious – great for a whisk(e)y mixer, my automatic reaction was to find the bottle of Jameson’s I have hanging around and slip a little into my glass.
However the Ginger Beer had me totally in love. Sweet, but not sickly sweet, it was fiery and earthy. Just how a ginger beer should be. I loved it so much, that whilst making a spicy rum based marinade for some chicken, I popped a splash or two into the final cooking process, to add stickiness to the finished dish. Delish.
What was interesting about all the mixers was their mouthfeel. Beyond the fizziness, all were light and gentle in the mouth, particularly when compared with some other tonics in my fridge.
Throughout this range, there’s something for everyone, and if you’re not a tonic lover, I’d definitely give their Tonic a go – I think you might be surprised.
For me? It’s all about the Ginger Beer.
Gin and Ginger anyone?
With thanks to Llanllyr Source for sending me these products for review. I may need a regular supply of that ginger beer!